Archive for the ‘Nia’ Category
Posted by terrepruitt on July 11, 2009
According to Wiki a Kata “is a Japanese word describing detailed choreographed patterns of movements practiced either solo or in pairs.”
Even though we do not do it solo or in pairs, Nia™ has adopted that word to describe the movements we do to a song. Nia classes are similar to other group exercises in that the teacher leads the group through moves.
Nia uses music and Katas strung together to form a routine.
The average seems to be between seven and ten katas to a routine. Since one of the goals in Nia is to find health through movement, we move in all different ways to the music. Sometimes the katas can be similar and sometimes they can be completely different. One might have you swirling in place or moving around the room. We often use the face of a clock as a pattern for our feet. We will, as an example, step to 12:00, then 6:00 and then maybe out to 1:00, 2:00, or 3:00. We might cross our right over to the left and step at 11:00 and/or our left over our right and step to 1:00. All the while moving our arms, of course.
The most recent kata I learned is full of kicks, chops, blocks, shimmys, and rumbles. It has front kicks, back kicks and side kicks. It has downward chops and upward chops. It has upward blocks, downward blocks, and outward blocks. It is somewhat energizing because you can really put some “oomph” into your blocks—really contracting the muscles, then when you do the shimmy it is a nice relaxing release.
Nia is a full body workout. The katas that are put together to form a routine that gets the whole body moving. Would you like to come see how its done?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: kata, kicks, Nia, Nia class, Nia workout, workout | 10 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 4, 2009
I feel I need to clarify something. I keep seeing these great articles on the internet about Nia. They are so great I get excited and I want to share them, until I get to the part where it says something like, “Nia students work through levels akin to martial arts and the different belts”. This is where my enthusiasm for the article dies. To me this makes it sound like a participant of Nia™ has to earn a belt in order to participate.
Nia is a workout. A person can go to a Nia class every day and workout and never have to think about belt levels. Belt levels never come into play during a workout. Nia as a workout is so beneficial you may never want to progress to anything beyond that. Think of it like yoga, you can go to a yoga class every day and never have to participate in the meditation or yoga life-style of a yogi or yogini.
My Nia White Belt and my manual
IF someone is interested in learning more about Nia, aside from what the book and the DVDs, the classes, and the workshops have to offer, one can participate in an “Intensive”. THIS is where the belts come into play. Each intensive is about 40 hours of intenseness. There is lectures and movement and workouts. There are five belts. Anyone can participate in the intensive, but they must be taken in order White, Blue, Brown, Black. And they require a year in between each belt.
Each of the four belts mentioned has principles. There are 13 principles for each belt, each belt also has a focus.
I am sure you noticed that I mentioned five belts but only named four, that is because one of the five belts is Green Belt. Green Belt is newly added and it is for teachers. So while any one can take an White, Blue, Brown, or Black belt intensive only teachers can take the green. That is because Green is focused on assisting teachers. It is just another aspect of the continuing education that Nia offers and recommends.
So, again I will say, anyone can participate in Nia as a workout and that is great and that is fine. You will gain many, many benefits from it. No one has to think about belts and the levels. Only if you are interested in making Nia a practice and learning more about it do you need to even think about the belts. Just come and enjoy the way your body feels during and after a Nia workout. Then if you arrive at wanting more you will do so . . . in your own time . . . in your own way.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: Belt System, Black Belt, Blue Belt, Brown Belt, Green Belt, martial arts, Martial Arts Belt System, Nia, Nia Articles, Nia Practice, Nia teachers, Nia workout, White Belt, work out, workout, Yoga Practice | 3 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 2, 2009
So, I could just fill my blog with Nia, but I want to post other stuff too because I am interested in other workouts and exercises and I like to share other stuff. Today is supposed to be my “fun” post or “whatever” post, not necessary related to health, wellness, or Nia™. I thought that I would find some inspiration before the day was out, but . . . nothing.
So . . . here I am, back at Nia and the wonders of it. I left an article from Nia Education in the studio where I teach (in Willow Glen) and it is about sounding. This evening (when does “evening” start? Anyway . . .) when I was explaining to my class in Los Gatos that Nia uses a focus it dawned on me that I didn’t have a focus for class. Then it came to me in a flash “Sounding”. Nia calls it sounding, I’ve heard some classes call it vocalization. Whatever . . .
We had a few songs that were great for sounding and that are normally done with us making noise, but tonight I added noise (sounding) into all of the songs.
I am going to be honest, when I am TAKING a Nia class I am not a big “sounder”, I am getting better, but I don’t always do it. So I know how intimidating it can be. And it frustrates me (that I don’t do it) because I know—-I have FELT the benefits. When I first started doing Nia I didn’t make any sound. Then I was in a class and I realized that I was the only one NOT making sound so I joined in—-HOLY MOLY! What a difference that makes. It is amazing and I can’t really describe it. But because I have felt the benefits, I am getting better at doing it in other’s classes, and I do it when I am leading my class.
Tonight I was so loud I couldn’t hear if others were doing it. I had to tone it down to make sure they were doing it. The women who showed up first, the ones I had explained it to were participating, but the others weren’t. But that is ok, they will come around in their own time, in natural time. After class I felt awesome. Sounding is amazing. It is like a release and an energizer all at once.
Have you ever been frustrated and just shouted, yelled, or screamed, you know how you feel after that? That sense of release, that feeling of “aaaaah, now I feel better.” Well, just think of an entire workout like that? It is exhilarating.
A Nia Education article says, “every cell in your body is a sound resonator that responds to sounds coming from the outside and the inside of your body, and that all of the systems in your body – your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual states of consciousness – respond to sound?”** Yeah, I knew that . . . .
If you are interested in the article, let me know. It is very short and I can send it to you. I have posted the tips for helping you begin sounding on my site, in case you are interested. So, can you do it? Are you ready to make some noise?
**Nia Education ©2006 Nia Technique, Inc.
Posted in Nia, Sounding | Tagged: exercise, exercise class, Los Gatos Nia, Los Gatos Workout, Nia, Nia class, Nia exercise, Nia workout, sounding, Willow Glen Nia, Willow Glen Workout, workout, workout class | 3 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on June 30, 2009
Where is it written that you have to walk into a workout class or a dance class and know every step? Can you point me to that grand writing? No. It doesn’t exist. Nowhere is it written that you walk in and know the steps or even that you know them after the first workout or the first class. But we still think that we should “get it” right away. Almost immediately we pull out labels like awkward and uncoordinated. Not often do we stop to give ourselves a break. Did we not have to learn how to walk, why is it that we think we must know how to move or dance?
I bring this up because I keep having this brought up to me. People say they feel like a klutz or that they have two left feet. Well, this could all be true as a feeling of what they feel, but how are they ever going to get over it?
With Nia (one of) the point(s) is to move how you need to move that day, in that class, in that moment. NOT to move exactly like the teacher or like the other students, or to be perfect or workout like it is a performance. It is to move how your body needs to move. It is to stop judging HOW you are moving and just MOVE. Yes, there are steps, there is a routine, most of the time you are doing guided movements, but you aren’t expected to know them and do them perfect. And even if you do know them, sometimes you might need to adjust them.
I understand that there is a desire to do it right, but with Nia™ we really take that saying “If you stumble make it part of your dance” to heart. No one is perfect, we are not expecting the routine to be done perfect. We are expecting respecting, respecting your body and your heart. You move, you mess up, you forgive yourself, you keep moving. It is not because you are awkward or uncoordinated no labels, take the next step. Come to class, learn, practice. Once you get the moves down then the fun really begins because then you can play with the move making it big or small fast or slow do it with ease or make it dynamic.
But you have to start at the beginning.
Honest? Want me to be honest here? After I get the gist of the routine down, I stop watching the training DVD. I refer back to it when I get stuck or want to refresh my memory or “tighten it up”. But I don’t practice to it. I don’t move like Debbie or Carlos*. I can’t concentrate on my music and the movements when I try. I have to turn them off and tune them out and concentrate on me and my workout. I have to listen to the music and sense when I am supposed to cue. I can’t learn what my body needs and get the work out I need if I am trying to do it exactly like them. I am not them. I am me. I have to pay attention to what I can do especially since what I can do in my living room is entirely different then what I can do when I teach. I have to make certain I practice the different levels so I have a chance to show them in class. When I workout to the DVD, I don’t practice level one, I am trying to keep up with Debbie.
So what I am saying is give yourself a break. We cannot all move the same. So we need to practice quieting our inner dialog that tells us we have to do it like whomever, and just do it like our body needs. It probably won’t be perfect because we are not perfect. We are there to move and improve and enjoy. So are you ready to give yourself a break and just move?
My schedule of classes in San Jose and Los Gatos.
*Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas, the people that have brought us Nia.
Posted in Exercise and Working Out, Nia | Tagged: Carlos Rosas, Debbie Rosas, Los Gatos Workout, Los Gatos Workout class, Nia, Nia San Jose, San Jose Nia, San Jose performance, San Jose Workout, San Jose Workout class, workout, workout class | 8 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on June 2, 2009
I was people watching the other day in a coffee shop in Willow Glen. I was looking at people’s shoes and it occurred to me that people might not realize feet need exercise too. The foot is an awesomely designed structure. Think about it: over 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments, and a bunch of muscles and tendons, all working to support you and transport you, and sometimes even defend you. The foot was designed to move, flex and absorb. Your foot can be subjected to up to four times your body weight.
Do you exercise them? Do you even think about them?
For most people feet are in shoes most of the day. Most shoes are very rigid and they don’t allow for the foot to bend and flex. With that kind of captivity your feet do not move much, so the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles and tendons don’t get the workout they need.
One of the reasons Nia™ is done barefoot is to exercise the feet. The Nia routines have us (at the very least) stepping flat foot, stepping into releve, stepping onto a heal lead, at times we use the ball of our foot flexing out toes—our entire foot gets a workout.
Nia can be done in shoes, but there is a reason why we do it in bare feet. We want to build a strong base. Our feet are the very bottom of that base. According to The Nia Technique® White Belt Manual: “Ida Rolf, the creator of Rolfing, teaches that the feet tell an entire story. She says to develop healthy and powerful posture, to have a strong an agile body, the feet must be structurally aligned. They must provide a firm, sturdy and flexible foundations.”
It is good for our feet to make a connection to the earth. Nia say that our feet are the hands that touch the earth. We have 7,000 nerve endings in our feet. Think about how alive they would feel out of shoes, touching the floor, assisting in the health of the rest of the body.
Next time you are working out, think about how you can help your feet get some exercise too.
Posted in Exercise and Working Out, Nia | Tagged: agile, barefoot exercise, Exercising, Nia, Nia Technique, Nia White Belt, San Jose exercise, Willow Glen, Willow Glen Exercise | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 30, 2009
In Nia (TM) our movement is for Joy. “Joy is not a technique or a choreographic method. It is an attitude toward the body and toward life. Joy is not just for when things in like are going well. It is an open accepting energy that accepts whatever comes its way.” (1) This is Universal Joy.
So we choose during our workouts to sense Joy and to seek the Joy of Movement. Throughout our routine we seek to sustain that Universal Joy. If we are able, we actually increase it. When we lose it or if we are doing a move that causes it to faulter, we tweak.
I think these can be applied to life. That is what I love about Nia. We have all these thoughts and ideas that we apply to our workouts, but they aren’t necessarily new and they can applied to life.
When you are doing something that gives you joy don’t you want to keep doing it? When you have joy don’t you want to increase it? When you start to lose it don’t you do something to tweak it and bring it back?
That is what we do throughout our work out. We are using our bodies to seek the sensation of Joy and if we find it and we can increase it, we do. If we start to lose it we can tweak it. Our workouts are about one’s own body and how it feels. So while you are following the teacher you are also paying close attention to yourself and making sure that you are sensing the Joy of Movement.
This is one of the things that makes Nia such a different workout. We are actually “sustaining, increasing, and tweaking” the entire time. Universal Joy. Allowing our bodies to move for pure pleasure. Doesn’t that sound like something you want to do?
(I have added an Evening class to my schedule. Teaching in San Jose (Willow Glen) three times a week; two AM classes and one evening class. Teaching at a member only club in Los Gatos in the evening once a week. Check out my Nia Class schedule on my site, HelpYouWell.com)
(1) From The Nia Technique – White Belt Manual March 2001, V3 page 2-4
Posted in Nia | Tagged: joy, Joy of Movement, Los Gatos Club, Los Gatos Nia, Nia, Nia Los Gatos, Nia San Jose, Nia Technique, pleasure, San Jose Nia, San Jose Workout, Universal Joy, White Belt, Willow Glen Nia, Willow Glen Workout, workout | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 14, 2009
In Nia (TM) we have FreeDance. It is not easy for most people to do. It is not easy for me to do. I am still learning. With Nia the purpose of FreeDance is “to stimulate movement creativity”. Whoa. Stimulate movement creativity.
Per an online dictionary:
Stimulate: to excite to activity or growth or to greater activity
Movement: the act or process of moving; especially: change of place or position or posture from the same source as above
And creativity: the quality of being creative or the ability to create
So we FreeDance to excite growth or greater activity in changing our place, position, or postures into new places, positions or postures. Hmmmm.
I will take this time to remind you that our bodies are built to move. And they are built to move a certain way. Our joints allow for certain types and amounts of movement. Now barring any ailment or disease our bodies should move like they are built. But we often don’t move that way. Our way of life keeps us from moving as our bodies were built. Sometimes social stigma keeps us from moving the way our joints would like. So in FreeDance you are invited and encouraged to break habits and to move like your body was built.
I have experienced that for some, moving their head is a new thing. Think of the old way models were trained with a book on the head, some of us were taught to walk and be in that position. Can’t move your head with a book balanced on it. So moving your head could be something new in FreeDance you could do and be amazed at the result. Something as simple as moving your head, breaking that straight neck habit could release oodles of tension.
Same with rigidly straight spines or tight backs. When you Free Dance you are not dancing like you would in a club, you are pushing the limits, you are moving your body to experiment with it. You are Stimulated Movement Creativity.
There is so much more to say on this. This is Nia White Belt Principal number 4. This principal has 8 stages, so that alone is a lot to talk about, but for now, I will leave it at FreeDance – To Stimulate Movement Creativity. See if you can add a little FreeDance into your day. It doesn’t have to be wild, it could be done where no one even notices, just move one move a little different than you normally do, and you will be on your way to FreeDance!
Posted in FreeDance, Nia, Nia White Belt Principles | Tagged: dance, Free, Free Dance, Nia, Nia Dance, Nia Free Dance, Nia White Belt, stimulate, White Belt | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 5, 2009
Like Jazzercise classes and Yoga classes, Nia (TM)has cycles to each routine. Nia has seven cycles. Here is a very brief description of each cycles. For more details on each cycle click here.
1. Setting your focus and intent
In the first cycle we set our focus and intent. Usually there is a class focus and intent, but you can set your own focus and intent and make the workout what you need for that moment.
2. Stepping In
This is when we, well, step in. We step into the moment. We step into the sensation of our bodies. We step in, leaving behind all the chaos of the rest of the world.
3. Warm up
This is a song or two that we use to warm up. We start our bodies moving. We get our joints and muscle loose and ready to move.
4. Get Moving
This is the portion of the workout routine where we really start to use all of our muscles. Often the music speeds up and participants can work up a sweat. This is also the time where you are charged with being your own conscious personal trainer.
5. Cool Down
This is the part of the routine were we slow down and prepare our bodies for the floor.
6. Floorplay
This is where you get to work some more muscles and or do some more stretching out of the ones your work. It is ok to have a towel or a mat for our floorplay.
7. Stepping out
This is usually the time in the routine where people start looking at the clock and then their watches and then they start looking around to see if anyone else is experiencing that the clock and their watch is broken because there is NO Way that it has been (about) 55 minutes.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: floorplay, Jazzercise, Nia, Personal Trainer, Workout cycles, workout routines, Yoga | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on April 11, 2009
I want to remind everyone that Nia™ or Nia Technique® is a specific practice.** It was created in 1983 by Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas. They were married and now they are not, but Nia is such an important part of their lives and so important to them, that they continue to work together.
Nia has different belt levels; White Belt, the newly added Green Belt, Blue Belt, Brown Belt, and Black Belt. Each Belt has its own set of principles, except for Green. You must wait a year in between belts before you can take the next intensive. (Except for green because it a newly added in the system to assist teachers.)
Click here for more info on classes and Nia
I am a White Belt, so I continue to work with the thirteen White Belt Principles:
1–The Joy of Movement
2–Natural Time and the Movement Forms
3–Music and the 8BC System
4–FreeDance
5–Awareness – Dancing Through Life
6–The Base; Feet and Legs
7–The Three Planes and the Three Levels of Intensity
8–The Core of the Body; Pelvis, Chest, and Head
9–Creative Arm and Hand Expressions
10–X-Ray Anatomy
11–Business and Marketing
12–Continuing Education
13–Dance What You Sense / Teach What You Sense
When I talk about Nia it is based on what Debbie and Carlos have created. They have been working and growing with Nia for 25 years. And if you look at their work and information you will see that it has morphed a little. It is the same basic practice but I believe it gets refined as they grow and change.
So please keep in mind when I talk about Nia, I am talking about something wonderful and specific and it is entirely based on the work of Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas.
Please join me in San Jose for a Nia class. Visit my website for the schedule http://www.helpyouwell.com/
**This post is to explain that “Nia” and “Nia-things” I talk about are primarily from the creators of Nia BUT please keep in mind . . . . Nia is also a workout that can be experienced, just like a Yoga, Zumba, Jazzercise, or any group exercise class. One can show up to class and just move and get a great workout. One does not have to participant in the intensive and the belt levels.
Visit Nia’s main website at: www.nianow.com
Posted in Nia, Nia White Belt Principles | Tagged: 8BCs, Carlos Rosas, Debbie Rosas, exercise class, exercise classes, great workout, group exercise, group exercise class, Jazzercise, joy, Nia, Nia Belt levels, Nia Practice, Nia San Jose, Nia Technique, Nia White Belt, Nia workout, San Jose exercise class, San Jose exercise classes, San Jose Nia, the joy of movement, thirteen White Belt Principles, workout class, Yoga, Yoga class, Yoga Practice, Zumba, Zumba class | 3 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 31, 2009
Nia™ is about joyful movement. Move with joy. Move for joy. Move to joy.
A Nia workout includes elements from three disciplines from three different arts:
From the martial arts, we use moves from T’ai chi, Tae Kwon Do, and Aikido.
From the dance arts we embrace styles from Jazz Dance, Modern Dance, and Duncan Dance
And from the healing arts we are mindful of teachings from Feldenkrais, the Alexander Technique, and Yoga.
At times we might move slow, focusing on movements centered around the body’s inner core, as in T’ai chi. We might kick or punch as one might do in Tae kwon do, and these movements might flow into a spiral motion that is associated with Aikido. We could decide to play the showman and do the entire routine with a jazzy flair or just add movements of creating shapes, dropping and then recovering the body’s own weight as a modern dancer might do. There is always a chance we could give into our inner child and run free and honest with the playfulness of a Duncan dancer. While we’re doing one these things we are keeping in mind the teaching of Moshe Feldenkrais and being conscious of sensations. We could stretch to the top with utmost concentration one might contribute to the Alexander Technique, then move onto a dance of bone alignment increasing awareness, relaxation, and balance the could be thought of as Yoga.*
So in one workout you can experience all those things. Strength is balanced with grace. Fun is balanced with seriousness. Body is balanced with mind.
The music is varied and is intended to promote the movement of the routine. There is no doubt something for everyone.
*based on information from The Nia Technique by Debbie Rosas & Carlos Rosas
Posted in Movement Forms of Nia, Nia | Tagged: Aikido, Carlos Rosas, core, dance arts, Debbie Rosas, disciplines, Duncan Dance, Feldinkrais, flow, fun, grace, Healing Arts, inner child, Jazz Dance, joy, joyful, martial arts, mind, modern dance, movement, Nia, Nia San Jose, playfulness, San Jose Nia, sensations, showman, strength, T'ai chi San Jose, Tae kwon do, Tae kwon do San Jose, Tai Chi, the Alexander Technique, The Nia Technique, The Nine Basic Movements Forms Of Nia, Yoga, Yoga San Jose | 13 Comments »
Terre Pruitt's Blog 